Why did Rahul Gandhi travel 2,000 miles across India?

Rahul Gandhi hopes to pull his once mighty party out of the political wilderness. India's future as a multi-party democracy may hang in the balance.
Day 76 of its long march north through all of India , Rahul Gandhi, scion of a once mighty political dynasty, walked into a textile manufacturing town in the middle of this vast land, his face and hair covered in dust.
"All democratic institutions have been closed to us by the government: Parliament, media, elections," said Gandhi, 52. , to his supporters late last month in Burhanpur, Madhya Pradesh state. "There was no other way than to take to the streets to listen and connect with people."
Within 16 months of national elections , Mr Gandhi's march could determine whether India's fractured political opposition can do anything to halt the landmark ambitions of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
< p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">India's future as a multi-party democracy hangs in the balance. Mr. Modi, one of the most powerful leaders in India's history, has recast its secular political base to privilege the Hindu majority and sideline Muslims and other minorities.
His footprint is so deep, and his successes so comprehensive, that his lieutenants say the B.J.P. will remain in control of the country for decades to come.
As the party has tightened its grip on the country and its institutions, opposition politicians are complaining about 'having been driven from platforms where they can reach the masses in the cycle of democratic politics.
Parliament, once a thriving debating chamber, is now largely confined to ministerial speeches, the ruling party avoid debates on key policy issues. The B.J.P., through a mixture of pressure and the threat of withholding government advertising money, has largely intimidated the mainstream media.
ImagePrime Minister Narendra Modi has recast India's secular political base to privilege the Hindu majority and sideline Muslims and other minorities.Credit...Ajit Solanki/Associated Press
After Mr. Gandhi reached Burhanpur, where a large crowd greeted him, some watching him from the rooftops and others from the skinny branches of the trees, he no mention was made of it in the evening television programmes.
The fact that Mr. Gandhi found it necessary to travel all over India, struggling to steal a ray of spotlight and project a new profile, is the culmination of a once unimaginable reversal of fortune for his family and fai party again.

World Dec 3, 2022 0 96 Add to Reading List

Why did Rahul Gandhi travel 2,000 miles across India?

Rahul Gandhi hopes to pull his once mighty party out of the political wilderness. India's future as a multi-party democracy may hang in the balance.

Day 76 of its long march north through all of India , Rahul Gandhi, scion of a once mighty political dynasty, walked into a textile manufacturing town in the middle of this vast land, his face and hair covered in dust.

"All democratic institutions have been closed to us by the government: Parliament, media, elections," said Gandhi, 52. , to his supporters late last month in Burhanpur, Madhya Pradesh state. "There was no other way than to take to the streets to listen and connect with people."

Within 16 months of national elections , Mr Gandhi's march could determine whether India's fractured political opposition can do anything to halt the landmark ambitions of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

< p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">India's future as a multi-party democracy hangs in the balance. Mr. Modi, one of the most powerful leaders in India's history, has recast its secular political base to privilege the Hindu majority and sideline Muslims and other minorities.

His footprint is so deep, and his successes so comprehensive, that his lieutenants say the B.J.P. will remain in control of the country for decades to come.

As the party has tightened its grip on the country and its institutions, opposition politicians are complaining about 'having been driven from platforms where they can reach the masses in the cycle of democratic politics.

Parliament, once a thriving debating chamber, is now largely confined to ministerial speeches, the ruling party avoid debates on key policy issues. The B.J.P., through a mixture of pressure and the threat of withholding government advertising money, has largely intimidated the mainstream media.

ImagePrime Minister Narendra Modi has recast India's secular political base to privilege the Hindu majority and sideline Muslims and other minorities.Credit...Ajit Solanki/Associated Press

After Mr. Gandhi reached Burhanpur, where a large crowd greeted him, some watching him from the rooftops and others from the skinny branches of the trees, he no mention was made of it in the evening television programmes.

The fact that Mr. Gandhi found it necessary to travel all over India, struggling to steal a ray of spotlight and project a new profile, is the culmination of a once unimaginable reversal of fortune for his family and fai party again.